April 8 – April 14 (2013) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

After screening the 1958 sci-fi classic “The Blob”at last Saturday’s movie night, I couldn’t get the catchy, snappy theme song out of my head. It’s awesome! It should be. It was written by Burt Bacharach! And performed by The Five Blobs!

Monday the 8th – BOSTONIAN VISITS “THE WINDY CITY!” – I got up at noon to do a bit for “The Tonight Show” in my home studio. I sent it in and then walked Roxy and got ready to run errands. I stopped by my accountant’s office to finalize my taxes. With my tax return I’m going to remodel one of my bathrooms to make it more modern and luxurious. I figure I have so many guests and important folks over, I need to give them the benefit of a nice bathroom facility. I swung by Quizno’s to pick up a sandwich and then headed to NBC. My pal Dan, from Boston (a new pal I met at the Starsky & Hutch tribute event the previous weekend) had gotten a ticket to the show on-line. So I told him I would meet him after and give him the quick tour. Just before the show, I recorded another quick voice bit for one of the writers. When we wrapped, I found Dan and took him backstage. Then we drove to my house so he could get the Planet Wallywood tour. We decided we’d get some friends together and walk down to the Studio Cafe with my dog Roxy to get some dinner. But it was WINDY as heck! I got a headache and itchy eyes. Since I had Roxy, we had to sit on the patio, and we were totally alone! NO ONE ELSE was crazy enough to sit out on the patio in the severe wind! A huge gust picked up a plastic chair and hurled it at our table. Roxy saw it coming and cowered beneath the table. But we were determined to rough it out! It all worked out though, and I made it home to take a dip in the jacuzzi and a nap. Then I sat down to start the looooong process of writing Wally’s Week, and telling all the stories about the amazing Starsky & Hutch weekend. I did an audition, and then hit the hay!

Tuesday the 9th – POWERLESS! – I got up at noon and did a bit for “TTS.” I walked Roxy, then showered up and headed to the bank to make a deposit. I made it to “TTS” a little early, drove my Mustang over to the NBC car wash to get it cleaned, then I got a salad at the world-famous NBC Commissary. We taped the show and I headed to the grocery store to get some supplies. When I got home and was putting them away in the fridge, the light in the fridge popped off. What? I thought I had blown a bulb, but then I heard the familiar beeping of my computer’s battery back-up. We had lost power at 6:40pm. I went outside and determined that power was out all throughout the block. It had been very windy the past few days, so it makes sense. I got back inside, put the rest of my groceries away and decided that since there wasn’t anything left I could do, I took a nap. I woke up at 9:30pm, just in time to see the power come back on. 3 hours without power! I had a LOT to catch up on! I hadn’t finished Wally’s Week yet, and needed my computer to do so. So once the power was back up I hit it, and hit it hard. Luckily there weren’t any auditions. I finished up Wally’s Week, did some work around the house, paid some bills, walked and fed Roxy and settled into bed with an episode of “Bionic Woman.”

Wednesday the 10th – WILD WEDNESDAY! – I got a hotline call in the morning to wake up and do a bit for “TTS.” I finished it up and sent it in, then headed back to bed to get another hour’s worth of sleep. I got up for a quick voice-over session for US Airways at Voice Trax West, went next door to put some money in the bank, then went to CVS pharmacy to pick up a prescription. Then I headed off to Toys ‘R’ Us to look around. I drove through Burger King to get an Italian chicken sandwich, then went to see my pal Kyle at Guns Direct in Burbank. I needed to have 3 guns cleaned from my shooting session with my pal Steve last week. I went to NBC to tape “TTS,” then went back to Guns Direct to pick up my guns and head home. My pal Brittney came over for a little while, then I grabbed a nap and slept until midnight. I had some auditions to do in my home studio, so I finished those up and e-mailed them to my agents. I took me about two hours to finish them all. Then I started working on my new display. The David Soul “Hutch” jacket from the 2004 “Starsky & Hutch” movie I had bought the previous weekend, fit perfectly on a torso mannequin I had laying around. I got the tall ladder out from my garage, replaced a bulb in one of my track lighting systems, dusted and cleaned, and positioned the new Hutch jacket on top of one of my cabinets. Then I filed some receipts in my tax case, and took Roxy out for our late-night stroll around the neighborhood. I heard a beautiful nightbird singing in a nearby tree. The night was clear and starry (the intense wind had blown out all the clouds), so we paused for a few minutes to listen to the beautiful birds sing. We listened for awhile, but never heard the bird sing the same sound twice! Amazing! This is getting me excited for my Palm Springs trip next week! I came back inside, made some spaghetti and watched another episode of “Bionic Woman” from the season 3 DVD set.

Thursday the 11th – BIKE DAY! – I got up at noon, made some calls, checked e-mails, and had my assistant Sara come over to hang out with the Chem Dry carpet guys, who were coming to clean my carpets this afternoon. The winds had died down a bit, so I hopped on my bike and headed to NBC. I stopped off at Paty’s for a quick salad, then headed on over to work. We taped the show and I headed back home on the bike. I did a few hours of work around the house, showered and then grabbed a quick nap. I got up for a ton of auditions. The carpets were still drying, so I stepped on them carefully. I prepped a bit for the maids, who were coming the next morning, and then I hit the hay.

Friday the 12th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZAK! Today is my son Zak’s 26th birthday! I got up at noon and let my assistant Sara in. She was going to hang out with the maids while I headed to work. On the way to work I stopped to get some light bulbs, and a new battery for the remote of my i-Pad dock. I’ll be needing it in Palm Springs, as I listen to music in my room almost constantly. It’s part of my relaxation/meditative/decompression regimen when I visit Palm Springs to rejuvenate. I grabbed a tuna sandwich at Subway, then went to Enterprise Car Rental to reserve an SUV for next week’s trip to Palm Springs. My Mustang isn’t big enough to take all my luggage AND my dog Roxy, and I’m certainly not driving the Gran Torino! So I’ll need a vehicle with a lot of room. I stopped by my mailbox to get my mail, and then off to NBC for our usual Friday early taping. We normally tape at 4, but we tape at 3 on Fridays. A few pals were there at the show. My friends Christina and Richard were there, and my neighbor Bob was there with his brother and his 95 year old mom. After the taping I went to get them and bring them backstage for a tour. As we were in the hallway, Jay walked by and said hi to everybody. It was very nice of him to do that! It would be the last time we’d be taping for a week, as we’re starting another hiatus period. And I had my mind on Palm Springs! I sped home to record a quick audition for my agent that needed to be in right away, and then I headed to Floyd’s Barber Shop for a cut and color. My pal Edi came over to Floyd’s to see me, so when I was done we went off to the Burbank Marriott to get our wristbands for this year’s Monsterpalooza. I bought tickets on-line for Saturday, but I wanted to go over the night before to get the wristbands early, so we could just waltz in past the enormous crowds on Saturday morning. But once we got there and looked inside at all the people having fun, I decided to buy us tickets for Friday night as well, and we went inside. I saw a bunch of pals like Dan Roebuck, Dana Gould, and others. I also spotted legendary make-up artist Dick Smith! But around 10pm I was starving. So Edi and I went over to Denny’s to grab a bite. I got back home and started prepping for the weekend at Monsterpalooza. And lots of great Starsky & Hutch tribute photos were trickling in!

Saturday the 13th – MONSTERPALOOZA! – I got up at 10, and Edi and Sara came over so we could drive over to Monsterpalooza. My pal Bruce Kulick came over to get the wristbands that I bought for him. We chatted for awhile and agreed to meet at the show a little later. But when we got to the show, there wasn’t any parking at all! The first lot at the Marriott was totally full. The second lot we went to was totally full. Finally, I dropped Edi and Sara off at the front door, and I drove around to find parking. Luckily the third lot I went to had parking. I really believe very strongly that Monsterpalooza has outgrown the Marriott in Burbank. I wish they would go to a larger venue that offers more parking, and more vendor space. It gets very crowded in there, and there’s always a line of people wrapped around the building to get in. A larger venue would mitigate this to be sure. It almost kind of ruins the experience of an otherwise great show. Once we made it in, we saw some great stuff. We saw our friends the Chaney family (Lon Chaney’s descendants), and the legendary Bob Burns. Bob had recently suffered a heart attack, and in spite of this he was there meeting fans. He did confide to me, however, that this may very well be his last appearance. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug, and told him I’d be praying for he and his wife Kathy. I saw my pal Robert Hall, special effects/make-up wizard and film and TV director, and we chatted for awhile. I haven’t seen him in a long time and it would be fun to hang out and catch up. Then Bruce and I took our friends to go see Ace Frehley, formerly of Kiss. Bruce and Ace chatted for awhile, and the fans enjoyed seeing two former Kiss guitarists together. Bruce introduced me to Ace and I told him when his new album comes out I was going to try and get him on “TTS” to perform! But we were starving, so we went next door to Daily Grill and had lunch. We went back to enjoy more of the show, but we were getting bushed. So we headed out by way of Denny’s. The night before, Edi enjoyed their orange smoothie and was craving another. We waited around for awhile, but no smoothies. Then the manager came out and said they were out of the “base” used to make the smoothies. We were all set to get them, but it looked like we would have to find another Denny’s to get them. Luckily, just as we were headed to the car in the parking lot, the manager ran back out and said he found some more base! We’re in luck! We enjoyed our beverages on the way home, and once I got inside I grabbed a quick nap before movie night. I hadn’t had movie night in a few weeks (one weekend was Easter and last weekend was the Starsky & Hutch tribute) so it was good to see everybody again. But my right channel on my DVD player kept cutting out. So obviously there’s a problem. I immediately texted my A/V guy Mark Ackerman and he agreed to come over on Tuesday to fix it. When it was over, I did some work around the house, and didn’t make it to bed until 8:30 Sunday morning!

Sunday the 14th – VACATION! – I slept all day and it felt very good. It was a very overcast day so it was perfect sleeping weather. I got up in time for evening church, and walked Roxy over for the service. My church pal Joe Cranston is the father of multi Emmy winner Bryan Cranston. I showed him a photo of a silicone mask that somebody at Monsterpalooza had made of Bryan’s face. It was so lifelike that Joe thought the photo was of Bryan. I explained to him that it was a 26 year old guy in a mask, he was astounded! He asked to keep the photo to show to Bryan! I walked home and was getting hungry. My neighbor Genta and I went to grab a bite to eat at Coral Cafe in Burbank. She had never been there, and she enjoyed pancakes, bacon and eggs. I had my usual pot roast. I always like to order the pot roast like this, “Could I have the pot roast with extra pot?” Then I wait for the server’s expression. Sometimes it’s puzzlement, sometimes they laugh, sometimes they roll their eyes. I use the same corny line every time I order it. When dinner was finished we both had pie for dessert. I came back home and did some auditions, then fed and walked Roxy. I had to get right to bed because I had a very early morning planned. I was going to Paramount studios to do some ADR for an episode of “Hawaii Five-O!”

And how was YOUR week??!!

VIDEO &PIX FROM THE WEEK

A very impressive exhibit was a robot skeleton which was animated to Ray Bradbury interview segments. Amazing!

Scott Land Marionettes created this fascinating Jay Leno puppet.

The Bryan Cranston mask made by the young gentleman wearing it.

The most disturbing costume of the day was this zombie-with-centipede-creature. The craftsmanship was remarkable!

Didn’t I got to High School with this guy? Or maybe he was one of my teachers!

An amazing recreation of “Bub” from “Day of the Dead” in the Monsterpalooza museum.

Also in the museum, was this stunning recreation of the “Jaws” cast.

Tracy the Gorilla, from Filmation’s “The Real Ghostbusters” is permanently displayed, now that legendary suit performer Bob Burns has retired.

“I LOVE YOU THIIIIIIS MUCH!”

A great Jay Leno marionette from Scott Land Marionettes.

Mike Hill does it again! He never ceases to amaze with this stunning recreation of Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera.

Another Mike Hill masterpiece! Count Orlock from “Nosferatu.”

Bruce Kulick (formerly of KISS) and his fiance Lisa with Ace Frehley (also formerly of KISS).

Wally and Ace Frehley, formerly of KISS, at Monsterpalooza!

Bruce and Wally hang out amidst all the groovy monsters!

One of the most amazing pieces of the day! A Bryan Cranston “Breaking Bad” silicone mask. It’s so lifelike, that when he was shown this photo, Bryan’s dad Joe thought it was his son!